Botch - 061524 [2 LP]

Influential hardcore innovators Botch's impact on aggressive music is undeniable. Their chaotic, math-laced brand of hardcore helped shape the genre’s landscape well after the band’s abrupt breakup in 2002. For years, a reunion seemed unlikely—until a chain of unexpected events brought the original lineup back together for the band’s first new recording in over 20 years: 2022’s “One Twenty Two.” The song was released to critical acclaim, building into a frenzy of anticipation for Botch to reunite. What started as a nostalgic experiment quickly became a full-circle celebration, with the band reconnecting both personally and musically. That spark unleashed a wave of activity: secret warm-up shows, sold-out headlining gigs, and eventually a carefully curated international reunion tour, culminating in their hometown return. Botch captured that performance to deliver their electrifying new live album "061524", recorded at the iconic Showbox in Seattle on June 15, 2024—exactly 22 years to the day after their original farewell show at the same venue in 2002. "061524" is a blistering, unflinching document of a band reawakened—not as a legacy act, but as a vital force. The album showcases the energy, grit, and heart of a group that’s not only older and wiser—but more rehearsed and way more ambitious. The performances are tight but still full of the raw unpredictability that defined their early years. Fan favorites like “To Our Friends in the Great White North” and “Transitions from Persona to Object” are more complex and invigorating than ever before. Other songs, like “Afghamistam” and “Oma,” never considered feasible to pull off live previously, are delivered with the intricacy and intensity that has earned the band a lasting legacy and fresh legion of followers.